MuseumAdmission:$4 for adults
$3 for seniors/students
$2 for children
$10 for families
-Free for CCHS members-Free for active duty military personnel + their families

Labor: A Working History

Press

Click here to read an article in the Northwest Labor Press about the exhibit.
Click here for The Columbian’s article.

Run dates: July 11, 2013 – August 1, 2015

Clock in at the museum to discover the significance of Clark County’s work and workers by tracing their development against a backdrop of regional and national labor movement milestones. Learn more about the past, present and future of local labor through words, images and artifacts, plus interactive displays for the young at heart.

Following the reception, author and University of Washington professor Dr. Michael Honey will present a special Second Thursday lecture entitled, “Links on the Chain: Labor and Civil Rights in Story and Song”. Refreshments will be provided by The Grant House Restaurant. CCHS members, military veterans, and active-duty military personnel and their families all receive free admission to the museum; otherwise, regular admission rates apply.

“Labor: A Working History” follows the path of workers’ rights locally and on a national scale beginning in the 1800s with Hawaiian and Native American laborers for the Hudson’s Bay Company. As industry began to grow in Vancouver through large companies like the Star Brewery and service industry jobs increased as a result, workers began to band together to protect their wages and rights. Continuing through the 20th century, the exhibit highlights the effects of the world wars on workers’ unions and the internal struggles between organized labor groups such as the AFL and the CIO. Since the 1980s and the rise of inflation and automation, labor unions have lost much of the power they once held, and the exhibit notes the plight of present-day workers and the specter of a future where they do not have the protections of strong labor unions.

Sponsors

Labor Panel Discussion to Air on CVTV

In March 2014, we held a panel discussion with three local labor issues authors at the Vancouver Community Library. A taping of this 2-hour program will be aired locally on CVTV through March 29th, and is also available on-demand here.